Machine for shrinking felt articles



' A ril 28, 1925.

H. A. GENEST MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES Filed July 16, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 W) mmmmw Invenor 1 gent/4% Ill I n u I III I: I! H 1 u 0 l 1 I l 2 W I ||l ll IIUJ.

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April 28, 1925.

H. A. GE NEST MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 12 192;

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Patented Apr. 28, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HOMER A. GENEST, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED STATES HAT MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

MACHINE FOR SHRINKING FELT ARTICLES.

Application filed July 16, 1923. Serial No. 651,710.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HOMER A. Gnnns'r, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a ly [achine for Shrinking Felt Articles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for shrinking hat bats and the like of the type having a bat carrying belt and rollers engaging the working face of the belt and the bats carried thereby.

The aim of the present invention is to provide a machine of this sort with means, hav ing features of novelty and advantage, for preventing the bats from leaving the work ing face of the belt-while passing beneath the rolls, and, particularly, for preventing the bats from Wrapping themselves about the rolls.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein I have shown, by way of illustration, one form which the present invention may take, it being understood that this showing is by way of exemplification;

Figure l is a top plan view of a machine for shrinking hat bats and the like and provided with my improved novel means or strippers for preventing the bits from leav' ing the bat carrying face of the belt;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view in vertical section, being taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1; and i Fig. t is a detail view of the strippers mounted in position.

The machine is provided with a pair of side frames 10 in which are mounted gener ally circularly arranged supporting rolls 11 between which are interposed deflecting or wave rolls 12. It will be seen that the sup- 'iorting rolls and the deflecting rolls 11 and 12 provide a generally circular and wavy path for a bat carrying belt 13, the working face of which may be provided with a multi-- plieity of kneading knuckles. Paired with the lower or return run of the belt 13 is a belt ltwhich may or may not, as desired, also be provided with kneading knuckles. Interposed between the deflecting rolls 12 at the top of the machine are suitable pressure rollcrs 20 which are urged, under pressure, against the belt 13 and the bats carried thereby. In the present instance, these pressure rollers have their opposite ends journalled in the tangentially extending arm of suitable levers 21 which may be'journalled on the shaft 22 of the deflecting rolls. or outwardly extending arms of the levers 21 are connected in pairs by springs 23 so that the rollers 20 are urged, under pressure, against the bats. As they are carried beneath these rollers, the bats are maintained .in a saturated condition and, to this end, I

to leave the working face of the belt and pass up between the rolls or rollers, or wrap themselves about these members. In order to prevent this, the machine is provided, in accordance with the present invention, with the members orstrippers 30 which have features of novelty and advantage. In the present illustrative disclosure of the invention, these strippers are in the form of plates extending longitudinally of the machine and spaced apart transversely thereof. The cylindrical members 12 and 20 are circumferentially grooved at intervals to accommodate these plates. In the present instance, these members are formed in sections, the sections of the wave rolls 11 being fixed to the shafts 22, and the sections of the pressure rollers being mounted in the shafts- 52, and spaces being provided between the sections. Each of the strippers, at its intermediate portion, removably straddles the shaft of a wave roll and renlovably receives, in its opposite ends, the pressure rollers mounted toeach side of the. particular deflecting roll with which the stripper is associated. In the illustrative embodiment of the invention disclosed in the drawing, each plate has, at its central portion, a notch or recess 33 which receives the shaft QQ-between thewave roll sections mounted. on this shaft. Each plate is further provided, at each end, with a longitudinally "extend ing recess'or notch 34, which respectively receives the shafts 32 of the pressure rollers located to opposite sides of the wave roll.

The radially At the rear end, each plate or stripper has a rearwardly extending portion or finger 36 projecting beyond the periphery of the pressure roller on which the stripper is mounted. For the purpose of preventing excessive side play or lateral movement of the stripper, there may be provided, adjacent the notches onrecesses 33 and 3 thickened portions or ribs37 here termed, for convenience, as hubs.

It will be seen from the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings,

that each stripper is supported at its op posite ends by pressure rollers so that the pressure rollers and the respective ends of the strippers associated therewith move in unison up and down when a bat is carried by the belt 13 beneath the pressure rollers, this being of advantage in that jamming of the hat bats between the strippers and the belt 13 is prevented. The lower edge of any one stripper intersects the peripheries of the wave roll, and two pressure rollers with which it is associated in such manner that should the forward edge of the bat tend to stick to and wrap itself upon any one of these cylindrical members, the plate 30 will strip this edge from the roll or rollers and thereby maintain the bat in an unrolled condition upon the belt.

The strippers are so arranged and constructed that they may be independently removed from the machine in a very easy and ready manner. It will be seen, from the drawings, that the levers 21 have hooked ends; that is, they are provided with downwardly extending notches 40 which notches receive the ends of the shafts 32 of the pressure rollers 20. To remove any one of the rollers, it is merely necessary to rotate the levers 21 associated with that roller away from the same, thereby moving the hooked end from the shafts 32 and then lifting the pressure roller from position. To take out any one of thestrippers, it is merely necessary to lift out one of the pressure rollers associated with the stripper and then swing one end of the stripper up and then slide the stripper out of place.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and manyapparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the inventio1rwl1ich,.as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and means supported by said members in spaced relation to said belt for preventing the bats from leaving the face of said belt.

2. In a machine of the character d scribed, a bat carrying belt, cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and stripper plates carried and supported by said members in spaced relation to said belt.

3. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, circu1nferentially grooved cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and flat stripper plates supported by said cylindrical members within said grooves in spaced relation to said belt, said plates having thickened portions located within said grooves to limit lateral movement of said plates.

4. In a machine of the character described,

a bat carrying belt, cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, means for supporting said cylindrical members for movement towards and away from said belt, and means carried and supported by said members in spaced relation to said belt for' preventing the bats from leaving the face of said belt.

5. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, eircumferentially grooved rollers engaging the bat carrying face of said belt and mounted for movement under pressure, relative thereto, and strip per plates carried by said rollers within said grooves and adapted to move with said rollers.

6. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, .fixed rolls engaging the bat carrying face of said belt, pressure rollers interposed between said fixed rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates associated with said rolls and rollers and supported by the latter.

7. In a machine of the character described,

supporting rolls, wave rolls in staggered relation thereto, a bat carrying belt passing between said rolls, pressure rollers interposed between said wave rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates straddling said wave rolls and supported: 'b y said pressure rollers and arranged to prevent the bats from wrapping themselves upon said wave rolls andlpressure rollers.

8. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, circumferentiallv grooved wave rolls engaging the bat carrying face thereof, a pair of circumferentially grooved pressure rollers between adjacent wave rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates mount- 9. In a machine of the character described,

a bat carrying belt, circumferentially grooved wave rolls engaging the bat carrying face thereof, circumferentially grooved pressure rollers between said wave rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates each having a notch intermediate its ends adapted to straddle a wave roll at the groove thereof, and each having at opposite ends recesses adapted to receive the grooved portions of the pressure rollers mounted on opposite sides of the wave roll.

10. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, circumferenth ally grooved wave rolls engaging the bat carrying face thereof, circumferentially grooved pressure rollers between said wave rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates each having a notch intermediate its ends adaptedto straddle a Wave roll at the groove thereof, and'each having at opposite ends recesses adapted to receive the grooved portions of the pressure rollers mounted on opposite sides of the wave roll, each of said plates further having at one end an extension intersecting the periphery of one of the wave rolls.

11. In a machine 'of the character described, a bat carrying belt, cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and a plurality of independent disconnected stripper plates-associated with said cylindrical members and independently removable therefrom.

12. In a. machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, circumferential- 1y grooved cylindrical members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and a plurality of independent stripper plates located within the grooves of said members and supported thereby and independently removable therefrom.

13. In a machine of the character described,a bat carrying belt, circumferentially grooved members engaging the bat carrying face thereof, and independent stripper plates supported by and removable from the grooved portions of said cylindrical members, said stripper plates having recesses or notches receiving the grooved portions of said members.

14. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, fixed rolls engaging the bat carrying face of said belt, removable pressure rollers interposed be tween said fixed rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates having notches receiving said roll and rollers and independently removable therefrom.

15. In a machine of the character described, a bat carrying belt, circumferentially grooved wave rolls engaging the bat carrying face thereof, independently removable and circumferentially grooved pressure rollers between said wave rolls and mounted for movement relative to said belt, and stripper plates each having a notch intermediate its ends adapted to straddle a wave roll at a groove thereof and each having at opposite ends recesses adapted to receive the grooved portions of the pressure rollers mounted on opposite sides of the Wave roll, each of the stripper plates being independently removable upon removal of one of the pressure rollers associated therewith.

HOMER A. GENEST. 

